Go and Wash
READ
We often overcomplicate spiritual growth, assuming that the road to sanctification must be intricate and convoluted. When the path toward maturing as a disciple of Christ appears too simple, we grow suspicious.
Yet sometimes, what God is calling us to do is strikingly straightforward. Our next step in faith may be small, simple, and unassuming.
Often, the healing and growth we seek lie on the other side of a modest act of trust.
Let’s take a moment to read 2 Kings 5:9-14:
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?”
So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’”
So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!
REFLECT
Naaman, like many of us, assumed that true transformation required an elaborate, complex protocol. His disease was severe and debilitating, and understandably, he reasoned that only an intricate prescription could bring healing.
Yet Elisha’s instruction was simple: go and wash. No miraculous feats, no complicated hoops to jump through—just a straightforward act of obedience.
Naaman’s healing was not a flashy spectacle. All that separated him from new life was a humble, deliberate step of faith.
Like Naaman, we often hesitate to take the next right step in our walk with God because it seems too small, too ordinary, or too unremarkable. We imagine that spiritual growth demands dramatic, life-altering displays of trust in God.
But the transformation we seek frequently comes through small, intentional, and often quiet acts of faith. Sometimes, all we need to do to grow is something about one thing.
The change we long for is usually realized through a series of simple—yet demanding—choices, made consistently and faithfully. God shapes us through little, habitual acts of devotion—like putting our phone down at the dinner table, thinking before we speak, or waking up a few minutes earlier to spend intentional time in prayer.
Transformation rarely happens at lightning speed. It is seldom the result of a complex formula or secret spiritual pathway. Healing and spiritual growth unfold over time, shaped by a series of deliberate, faithful choices.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Have you been overcomplicating your pathway to spiritual growth? What is a small, simple, deliberate step God might be calling you to take toward transformation?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Abba, thank You for showing me the way toward sanctification, growth, and healing. Forgive me for the times I overcomplicate Your instructions, assuming that true growth must be dramatic or grandiose. Teach me to trust Your guidance in the small, ordinary steps You place before me. Help me to lean into Your simplicity, knowing that even the humblest act of trust can bring transformation. Give me the grace to pursue growth not for the sake of my pride, but for Your Name’s sake and for the good of those You love. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.